1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector connecting structure of a junction box in which the junction box is secured to a bracket with a bolt, and connectors of a wire harness are connected to the rear cover of the junction box.
2. Related Art
Connectors can be connected to a junction box (hereinafter referred to as J/B) either by hand or by screws. Connector engagement may be unreliable when relying upon human hands, because there may be imperfect engagement or he/she may forget to connect the connectors at all. Also, since there is a limit to human power in pressing the connectors, multipolar connectors cannot be employed. As a result, the J/B tends to be undesirably large.
If the connectors are multipolar, the junction box needs to be engaged by screws. For instance, a connector connecting structure of a junction box shown in FIG. 9 (disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-49064) has been employed.
In such structure, a plurality of female connectors 51 are connected to a J/B main body 50 from below. A plurality of male connectors 52 corresponding to the male connectors 51 are engaged with connector housings 53, and the connector housings 53 are temporarily engaged with the J/B main body from above. By tightening a bolt 54 to secure the connector housings 53 to a nut 55 of the J/B main body, the male connectors 52 are engaged with the female connectors 51. Wire harnesses 56 and 57 are connected to the female connectors 51 and the male connectors 52, respectively. A J/B 58 is made up of the J/B main body 50, the female connectors 51, the connector housings 53, and the male connectors 52.
In the above conventional structure, however, it is necessary to employ a protector for preventing interlock or a jig for tightening a screw. For instance, if the J/B 58 is arranged in a small space inside an instrument panel of a vehicle, the screw cannot be tightened. There is another problem that the production cost is unreasonably high, because it is necessary to employ various parts such as the bolt 54 and the nut 55 for screwing engagement.